Poulsen Hybrid car conversion kit takes aim at X-Prize, your wallet
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 8th 2008 2:48PM
posted May 8th 2008 2:48PM
While most of the Automotive X-Prize entrants are vehicles built from the ground up for maximum gas mileage, Poulsen Hybrid's entry takes a considerably different tact, with it consisting simply of a kit that can be attached to any old car. That kit consists of two hybrid electric motors with rare earth permanent magnets that (as you can see above) are mounted on the outside of the vehicle, which are tied to a 72V 120Ah Deep Cycle Lead Acid battery pack on the inside. According to Poulsen, once installed, the system effectively turns a front-wheel drive car into an all-wheel drive car, and results in a driving "effect" that is " equivalent to freewheeling down a 3% grade," with the accelerator needing to be depressed less or not at all to keep the car moving. Also unlike most other X-Prize competitors, Poulsen intends to make its kit available to the general public in the not to distant future, and for the relatively bargain price of $3,300, no less (add an extra $600 to that if you don't think you're up to installing it yourself).
[Via Autoblog Green]
[Via Autoblog Green]
At $4 a gallon and rising, i think the next ten years will see people going a GREAT lengths to save gas (and money), not just look green. I am kind of worried about this stuff actually, as my car isn't very efficient and it uses premium... :(
-Taylor
You're not very green are you?
In reality, we could all be running our vehicles on Cannabis oil.
But NOOOOOO. LOL.
Vegetable Oil is still legal. Try that.
Cannabis oil ey?
Hey that's a good idea, instead of incinerating all the stuff from drug busts process it for fuel!
Just don't be surprised if you see people at the back of their cars with smoking devices attached to the exhaust :)
Do I need an extra motor for my spare :)
If you put it on a prius, you get infinite MPG!
But be careful parking the car too close to the curb... "Careful, honey... CAREFUL! CRUNCH... DOOHHHH!!!"
This system wins purely on simplicity and cost. It may not provide the best results, but the fact that it can be adapted to almost any car on the road and is within the budget of many drivers makes it the most viable xprize option I've seen so far....and that is what the competition is really about.
If this system can get you 15-20% better fuel economy around town, it might be worth a shot.
Can a plastic bumper really withstand the torque from that motor?
I really hope this is not attached to the bumper, more like a tow package instead.
This is a brilliant idea, and great to see something different.
Can this setup provide different amout of torque to each wheel? If not, then turning may be tricky/dangerous (think differential),unless I'm missing something here...
The difference between torque and speed?
A differential (standard, not limited-slip) applies the same torque to both wheels. That's why when one wheel slips in a slushy spot (dramatically reducing the torque), you lose forward thrust; the torque on the wheel that could push you has to be the same.
Actually, these won't give equal torque, so this would really be rather handy for winter driving. That 7 hp when only one wheel is making good contact would help sometimes.
What happens when you put it in reverse?
Good luck changing a flat tire.
So much for your brakes.
Remind me to pick up some iron powder, lots of it.
This seems excellent! I could honestly see this company mass producing these, especially with the climbing cost of fuel.
I wonder if they put more money towards this, if they could engineer it to be on the inside of the wheels, like between your rotor and your rim.
I also found these interesting links to increase the gas mileage,
http://www.water4gas.com/2books.htm
http://www.auto-facts.org/water4gas-scam.html
http://www.water4gasripoff.com/
Oh, wow, I can turn water into water, magically powering my perpetuum mobile... Where do I sign up?
Seriously, though, water injection (into a gasoline engine running on gasoline) can do a lot of good for fuel economy.
I'd wager that on 90%+ of cars on the road having a system that goes between the rotor and wheel will never work.
Their real best bet would be to develop several different "basic" systems designed around a variety of different rear suspension and drivetrain configurations. For instance... one system designed to work with a indpendent rear suspension and front wheel drive, one system for a torsion beam suspension and front wheel drive, one system for a leaf sprung solid axle suspension and rear wheel drive, etc. Then make the systems extremely modular so that they could be easily adapted to fit the specific vehicle.
Of course doing this would mean a much larger investment in time and resources. The solution would be much better than the monstrosity displayed here, I just don't know if the company has the means to tackle such an undertaking.
Grammar nazi: "not to distant future"; should be "not too distant future" (last paragraph).
But I don't want to distant the future, either!
i heard this older person on the bus say that, "nothing cheap is good, nothing good is cheap." I never even heard of this company.
When I had a FWD car (with a worn out transmission), I thought since the rear wheels only do is help with the breaking and keep the back end from scraping the pavement, why not put electric motors on these wheels make the car a hybrid.
I see others have thought the same thing as me. This version is much simpler than mine.
I wish I could materialize my ideas.
hub motors, control wiring, recharger, adapter plates, and batteries for only $3,000 - that's a good deal.
And the Lithium Ion version is $6,000.
Gotta read the manufacturer's website directly though, they're not making claims, but they are changing the thinking involved.
It's like adding a traction motor to your bicycle wheel.
Well done Poulsen, I'd like to see this delivered to market.
"Poulsen Hybrid's entry takes a considerably different tact"
Tack, not tact. The term originates from sailing. Tact isn't even remotely the right word.
Sigh...it's just too good to be true I'm afraid.
I can see it now.... you're out on a rainy day with one of these things installed on your car and you get a flat rear tire. The bolts of the poulsen hybrid system are rusted fast and you can't get it to come off... which is good, because if you'd have gotten if off right away it may have been too hot to touch. You go to change the tire, realize that the spare is flat (of course), get a ride to a gas station to inflate the spare, get a ride back, and reinstall the tire. Now it's time to get the poulsen unit back on - it's still raining, keep in mind......
Think it will fit on my HUEG PS3?
With all the money you save with the improved mileage, get AAA, and let them change these flat tires. I have had 2 flat tires my entire life. If thing greatly improves the MPG, I'll gladly deal with the flat tire situation.
Regarding the looks? Let people laugh while you laugh all the way to the bank. Who cares what it looks like? It appears that once again, necessity is the mother of invention.
Well if you don't want to spend $3,300 for this kit there is always the option of HHO (water) hybrid kits you can always install for like $300 bucks. Just as effective of better i think and saw some kits and information on how to get the kits at http://www.convert2hybrid.com
I think it's better than having to charge batteries for an electric motor.
I agree with Taylor, Gas prices will hit a high very soon. The only solution is to convert your car into a hybrid. There are kits available http://www.convert2hybrid.com